KOMU's Ashley Reynolds and her team having been working on the series, including a look at the resources we have in Mid-Missouri to help families dealing with the disorder.

Columbia has two mainstream organizations that combat autism. The Thompson Center and Judevine both offer intensive therapy and early intervention services.

We went to Judevine with the Miles family and they say they are seeing great results through therapy The Judevine is providing. With a set of rules, Will can connect the toys to help him combat his autism.

"When I first started working with Will during the training program he started saying his first words. He said a few things like 'duck' and 'quack' and now just to hear all that language from him. To hear him say, 'no' and 'okay' and 'counting,' it's a big change in him," Teresa Schmitter said.

Judevine offers an array of help for autistics ranging from therapy to adult services.

"We first started because families had to go to St. Louis or Kansas City for services. So the families wanted something more local," Schmitter said.

That isn't a shocking request. One out of 150 children have autism according to the Center for Disease Control.Another resource is the Thompson Center. It provides clinical services and therapy.

"Our main goal is to give parents information to start with on whether this is autism..and if so what to do about it..but also if it isn't. So the Thompson Center is actually the Thompson Center for autism and neurodevelopment disorders. So a lot of it is doing a really in-depth assessment of children. And the what to do about it brings all these people together here at the Thompson Center," Dr. Judith Miles said.

The clinic has physicians, psychologists, and educators to help families combat autism.

"We are sitting here in Columbia, Missouri but we really serve the entire state. Being the first clinic for autism in the state and the only one for a number of years. We have really come to be the center point of the state where referrals come to," Dr. Miles said.